Florida State ranks 18th this year, up from 20thdeath penalty ,Florida republican governorDeSantis (Ron DeSantis) was aggressive in implementing the death penalty during his last term. Death row inmate William Reeves, 77, was injected with three drugs at Florida State Prison and was pronounced dead at 6:12 p.m.
The Associated Press reported that Reeves was convicted of first-degree murder in the September 1986 shooting death of then-Deputy Richard Raczkoski in Indian River County, Florida.
During the execution, Reeves was asked if he had any last words, and Reeves said, no.
About 30 seconds after the injection began, he took several deep breaths and became motionless; A few minutes later, the prison staff shook his shoulders and called his name, but he did not respond. Medical staff confirmed that Reeves was dead.
Court records show that on the day of the incident, Raczkoski went to a convenience store in Vero Beach to handle the matter. Reeves later admitted that he reported the incident from a public phone outside the store.
While the two were talking, Reeves’ gun fell out. After a struggle, Reeves took the gun back and shot Raczkowski four times.
Reeves was first sentenced to death in 1987, but the Florida Supreme Court overturned the sentence due to a conflict of interest by the prosecutor. After a retrial in 1992, he was again sentenced to death. He lost all subsequent appeals.
